Reflexions on Mahler: Dessins, Modularity and Gauge Theories

This is a review article on mirror symmetry and aspects of it related to the theory of modular forms. We describe this topic along its historical development and connect to some more recent results toward the end. The article is for publication in a special issue of ICCM Notices.

The aim of this paper is to prove a Mahler measure formula of a four-variable Laurent polynomial whose zero locus defines a Calabi-Yau threefold. We show that its Mahler measure is a rational linear combination of a special L-value of the normalized newform in S_4(Gamma_0(8)) and a Riemann zeta value. This is equivalent to a new formula for a 6F5-hypergeometric series evaluated at 1.

We give an account of the theory of dessins d'enfants which is both elementary and self-contained. We describe the equivalence of many categories (graphs embedded nicely on surfaces, finite sets with certain permutations, certain field extensions, and some classes of algebraic curves), some of which are naturally endowed with an action of the absolute Galois group of the rational field. We prove that the action is faithful. Eventually we prove that this absolute Galois group ...

In this paper, a construction of an infinite dimensional associative algebra, which will be called a \emph{Surface Algebra}, is associated in a "canonical" way to a dessin d'enfant, or more generally, a cellularly embedded graph in a Riemann surface. Once the surface algebras are constructed we will see a construction of what we call here the associated \emph{Dessin Order} or more generally the \emph{Surface Order}. This provides a way of associating to every algebraic curve ...

We study seven-branes in $O(10^{15})$ four-dimensional F-theory compactifications where seven-brane moduli must be tuned in order to achieve non-abelian gauge symmetry. The associated compact spaces $B$ are the set of all smooth weak Fano toric threefolds. By a study of fine star regular triangulations of three dimensional reflexive polytopes, the number of such spaces is estimated to be $5.8\times 10^{14}\lesssim N_\text{bases}\lesssim 1.8\times 10^{17}$. Typically hundreds ...

We outline a project to study the Galois action on a class of modular graphs (special type of dessins) which arise as the dual graphs of the sphere triangulations of non-negative curvature, classified by Thurston. Because of their connections to hypergeometric functions, there is a hope that these graphs will render themselves to explicit calculation for a study of Galois action on them, unlike the case of a general dessin.

Reflexive polytopes in n dimensions have attracted much attention both in mathematics and theoretical physics due to their connection to Fano n-folds and mirror symmetry. This work focuses on the 18 regular reflexive polytopes corresponding to smooth Fano 3-folds. For the first time, we show that all 18 regular reflexive polytopes have corresponding 2d (0,2) gauge theories realized by brane brick models. These 2d gauge theories can be considered as the worldvolume theories of...

We point out an explicit connection between graphs drawn on compact Riemann surfaces defined over the field $\bar{\mathbb{Q}}$ of algebraic numbers --- so-called Grothendieck's {\it dessins d'enfants} --- and a wealth of distinguished point-line configurations. These include simplices, cross-polytopes, several notable projective configurations, a number of multipartite graphs and some 'exotic' geometries. Among them, remarkably, we find not only those underlying Mermin's magi...

In this article, we study the Mahler measures of more than 500 families of reciprocal polynomials defining genus 2 and genus 3 curves. We numerically find relations between the Mahler measures of these polynomials with special values of $L$-functions. We also numerically discover more than 100 identities between Mahler measures involving different families of polynomials defining genus 2 and genus 3 curves. Furthermore, we study the Mahler measures of several families of nonr...

Using the graphical method developed in hep-th/9908082, we obtain the full curve corresponding to the hyperk\"ahler quotient from the extended E_7 Dynkin diagram. As in the E_6 case discussed in the same paper above, the resulting curve is the same as the one obtained by Minahan and Nemeschansky. Our results seem to indicate that it is possible to define a generalized Coulomb branch such that four dimensional mirror symmetry would act by interchanging the generalized Coulomb ...